People who do not understand Islam are the ones seeking to change it, said Shaker Elsayed, the new spiritual leader at the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington. "Ignorance comes from outside circles who know nothing about us."

Though his role as the mosque's religious leader is a new one, Elsayed is well known as a civic activist in a large Muslim community that has been subject to sharp scrutiny ever since the Sept. 11 attacks. His face is a familiar one at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, where he has lent support to area Muslims he sees as victims of a federal witch hunt - from those prosecuted for immigration violations to soliciting treason.

Elsayed, who assumed duties as imam on June 1, also has served as secretary general of the Muslim American Society. Some federal authorities and U.S. Muslim leaders suspect the advocacy group has links with the Muslim Brotherhood, a seminal anti-Western group that has inspired other hard line Islamic organizations. Elsayed, however, said he is not a member of the Brotherhood.

He has also served as an unofficial spokesman for the family of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, who is accused of joining al-Qaida while studying overseas and plotting to assassinate President Bush. Abu Ali grew up in Falls Church, and worshipped at Dar al-Hijrah.

With all his activities, it's perhaps not surprising that Elsayed's sermons seem to carry political overtones. On a recent Friday, preaching to more than 500 men and women - with the genders worshipping separately - he said without mentioning specific nations that: "Islam forbids you to give allegiance to those who kick you off your homeland, and to those who support those who kick you off your homeland. We do have license to respond with all force necessary to answer our attackers."

Asked after the sermon to elaborate, Elsayed said that opposition to U.S. policy in the Middle East is different than viewing the American people as the enemy.

Talking about his views on militant groups like Hamas, which the U.S. government has designated as a terrorist organization, Elsayed compared the Palestinian group formed in 1987 to Nelson Mandela's African National Congress - organizations that resorted to violent resistance only after decades of injustice.

"Everybody jumps on Hamas," Elsayed said. "Look at how long Israel has occupied (Palestinian lands). How long did it take to say enough is enough?"

Still, he said support for Hamas' objectives does not mean he always supports their tactics, which at times have included suicide bombings. "Islam calls for the minimum effective response to aggression," Elsayed said.

Muqtedar Khan, an expert on Islam and a political scientist at Adrian College in Michigan, said Dar al-Hijrah is not a typical American mosque and Elsayed is not a typical American imam.

"Shaker Elsayed is more like a political figure than a religious figure," said Khan, who worshipped at Dar al-Hijrah for several years while attending Georgetown University as a graduate student. "Dar al-Hijrah is a very Arab-centric mosque, very much centered on Arab politics."

The mosque, he said, is more typical of what one might find in the Arab world, with the rhetoric toned down a little bit for fear of drawing excessive attention in a post-Sept. 11 world.

"Dar al-Hijrah has always been in the hands of the conservatives" since its founding in 1983, Khan said.

While the leadership is conservative, Khan said, the congregation itself might not hold the same beliefs. For many people, the mosque is simply a convenient place to attend required prayer services.